Inquisitor's Tale: A Pyrrhic Victory
by Captain Degenerate
Summary: Do you believe in destiny? What about death after taking an arrow to the chest? She believed in both of these things. Turns out the glowing green hand of fate works in mysterious ways. AU/Crossover/Retelling
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is an army of bad puns, and they are always ready to deploy.

A/N 1: I realize that not everyone who's seen one of these universes has also seen the other, so I'll try to explain it in the story as I go along. But for now there's no time to explain, its Dragon Age and RWBY, what more do you need to know?

A/N 3: Also this is my firstish fanfic, so lemme know how I'm messing up.

A/N 2: I'm rating this T, but the video game this is based on is also rated M. Ehh, it's probably fine.

* * *

Darkness…

 _It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours._

Falling…

 _But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined._

She heard voices…?

 _Do you believe in destiny?_

Her voice?

 _Yes._

She awoke with the worst headache she's ever had. She looked around and found she was in a simple room. The walls were bare, as was the floor. Light shone in from what she assumed was the window behind her.

"Am I inside the school?"

She heard a sound like glass cracking, and turned around to exactly that. She saw the most beautiful mirror she had ever seen shatter before her eyes. Confused, she reached out to a shard when she heard a scream.

" **Someone! Help Me!"**

Bursting through door after door searching for the source of the cry, she began to doubt that she was back inside the school. In fact, she was beginning to believe she was in some kind of… holy place? The girl opened a large set of double-doors into a sanctuary larger than she'd ever seen. She could have spent the next few minutes staring in wonder at it if not for the demon in the center of the room, an old woman dressed in ornate clothing being bound up by a strange green energy, and several other mean-looking people standing around them.

"What's going on in here?" She demanded

"Run while you can; WARN THEM!" The captive woman cried out.

The dark figure in the center of the room seemed to notice her then, and regarded her as one would a fly.

"We have an intruder." Its voice echoed with a menace that suggested great power. "Slay the human". It then returned to its chanting, assuming that the minor inconvenience would be dealt with.

She was up a creek without a paddle. The demon's order to slay her was an unpleasant reminder that she had no weapon, and the five henchmen were advancing on her. The first one charged and made a vicious swing towards her head with a club, but she was already gone. Leaping over him, she stole his helmet and bashed the second over the head with it. The soldier was dazed long enough for her to grab his weapon and stab the third. Dodging the second strike from the first club wielding brute was enough to see the second soldier taken down by the errant swing. The fourth and fifth had been hanging back to avoid making the same mistake, but were now closing in on her.

Hearing another scream and looking past them, she saw the woman in agony as the green tendrils binding her growing stronger. It was that distraction that allowed one of the soldiers to land a solid strike with his club. The blow was hard enough to send her careening through several pews. The impact might have shattered the bones on a normal person.

She didn't have time for this. Raising the sword she had taken, she charged at them, making as if to strike. Instead, she dove and slid past them, slashing at the back of their legs as she went. They no longer posed a threat, but the magical energy from whatever spell the demon was using noticeably heated the room. She had barely expended any effort but she was already sweating profusely. She needed to take the demon by surprise and separate him from the orb.

It almost worked.

The demon was focused on whatever magic it was weaving; he didn't see her until the last possible moment. Breaking the chant once more, it was forced to step back and dodge a strike aimed at its head. A strike never came. Instead, she feinted and brought the edge of her blade down on the hand that held the magic orb. It clattered as it hit the ground, rolling between them.

Strangely, the orb seemed to scream in agony as it hit the ground, as if calling out to her as the now unconscious old woman had.

"YOU INERNAL SWINE! You dare interfere in the crowning of a god? Your death will make the divine's look swift and merciful." Its voice boomed, as if the threat alone was enough to conjure up magical energy. "And impudence in your hear shall burn with you."

The non-severed hand extended, and black magic spewed out from it.

She lunged and reached out for the orb.

Her palm made contact.

She awoke face down on the ground for the second time in a row, wondering where the rest of the building went. Looking around, she saw what might have been ruins of the building she remembered being in. The only sound was that of a light scurrying, like a few mice pattering about in the walls. Looking up, she found that she was no longer inside at all. She saw darkness, and a sickly green mist that permeated the air.

 _Am I dead?_

The sound was growing exponentially. She turned around, and found there was no time to ponder her existential state. A legion of spiderlike creatures was bearing down on her, and she decided to run on the off chance that these weren't her angelic ambassadors to heaven. Looking for anywhere to go in the opposite direction, she saw a giant staircase leading up to a woman bathed in light, along with what she hoped was a way out.

Ignoring the idea that walking into the light was the literal metaphor for death, and that she was running towards something that looked like an angel, she tried to pick up her pace. She couldn't however, and by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could barely manage a crawl. It was as if the place –wherever it was- actively sapped her strength as she moved.

Her pursuers didn't seem to have this issue. They rapidly gained on her as she tried to climb the stairs. Nearing the top, and the end of her endurance, she reached out to the being. The being reached back. As they touched, her hand exploded in green light, giving her the worst pain she could imagine. She could feel herself moving, as if she was being pulled at her palm by a speeding train. The train stopped and then thankfully, her vision faded to black.

* * *

End Note: So if you can't tell, this story will be largely a retelling, with some quirks here and there. It's useful to me because I can use some dialogue from the games to explain things to both the main character and readers who haven't played the game at the same time, while also adding my own dialogue options.

On a more technical note, please read and review about anything. Feel free to flame, but I don't see how that would help me improve the qualities of the story or my skills as a writer, so you aren't really helping anyone.

Also, because I'm shuddering to think about how many times I probably switched tenses as I wrote this, please slide into my DMs if you're interested in being a beta reader. I'm often two tired (like a bicycle?) to check my stuff after I finish writing.

P.S. I'm adding this right before I upload. I'm already a thousand words into the next chapter, and I doubt that I'm even a quarter of the way done, so I hope you don't hate uneven chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I feel like anyone who reads these knows that I don't own anything.

* * *

She was getting tired of waking up in a different place every time she passed out. It seemed like it was getting worse every time. First a temple with a demon, then literal hell, and now she was in chains and surrounded by guards. While one might contend that guards aren't as bad as giant spiders, the fact that her hand was now pulsing green and felt like it was being held down in acid more than made up for it. The scowl on the face of the woman walking in did not look promising either.

Whoever she was, she was dressed for battle, with an unfamiliar insignia emblazoned on her breastplate. She had a pair of scars on either side of her face: a small one on her cheek, and a much larger one around her jawline. She was clearly the leader. She was flanked moments later by another woman, whose footsteps were so quiet that one would have missed her if they had not been watching the door when she entered.

"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now." The first one began. Her calmness almost hid the anger in her voice… almost. "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."

The girl in chains remained silent. She could have broken out of the chains and attempted escape (her strength had returned in the hours since she had awakened this time), but she was not sure if she would succeed against so many people in such small area. She was already surrounded. Besides that, she needed answers, and this is the first time in a while that something hasn't been trying kill her without asking questions first. Her confusion must have shown on her face, because the interrogator moved on, not waiting for a response.

"Explain _this._ " she said, gesticulating towards the green mark on her hand, which chose that moment to pulse harder, causing the prisoner no small amount of pain.

"I… can't"

"What do you mean you can't?" The interrogator's frustration began to mount.

"I don't know what this is, how it got there, or even where I am right now."

Now face to face, the interrogator was almost shouting. "You're LYING!"

At this, the second woman pulled her back. "We need her Cassandra."

The girl in chains herself was becoming impatient. She had no idea what was going on, and she was being treated like she had all the answers. "Look, I don't know what you think I did, but I'm just as in the dark about this as you are. In fact, I probably know less than you do."

Both women seemed to believe her. She relaxed a bit, until she saw the look that passed between the "Cassandra" and the other woman. Clearly they needed her to know something, and it was apparent that she didn't even know how much she didn't know.

"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" The second women asked

"I remember running, with these things chasing me. There was a staircase and at the top of it was… a woman"

Their confused faces told her to keep going. She tried to go farther back, to the first time she awoke. But things got cloudy, and suddenly she couldn't think straight. Her mind was jumbled up with what felt like a billion different voices. Her hand pulsed again, harder this time. She screamed, with all of her thoughts pushed to the back of her mind by the pain. By the time it had subsided enough for to think again, she had only been able to catch bits and pieces of an exchange between her two captors.

"…believe she doesn't know?"

"…as much pain as she appears to be in…"

"…are being overrun in the valley…"

"Go to the forward camp, LeIiana. I will take her to the rift."

The second one left as quietly as she came. Cassandra released her chains, leaving her bound by only by a pair of leather cuffs.

"Come, I will show you what has happened." She said.

* * *

The ground was covered in snow, and the glare from the sun had the girl trying to cover her eyes after being in a dark room for so long. As her vision cleared she saw the glare was not coming from the sun, but a vortex of mystical green energy in the sky. She could only stare at it in a horrified wonder.

"We call it 'The Breach'. It is a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour." Cassandra began. "It's not the only such rift, but it is the largest. And it seems to be spawning more as time goes on. This was all caused by the explosion at the Conclave. If we don't stop it… it could grow until it swallows the world."

The phrase "swallow the world" must have sounded good to the breach, because it chose that moment to begin expanding again, sending a jolt of pain into the girl's hand.

"Each time it spreads, your mark expands. And you've probably noticed that it's killing you." She paused before her next statement, giving the girl a moment to recover. "It may be the key to ending this, but we must move quickly."

"Then let's go," The girl barely gave enough time for her to complete her sentence before giving her affirmation "before anyone else gets hurt".

Cassandra was briefly stunned by the woman's selflessness. If she had any ulterior motive, she was making it obvious. Looking into the prisoner's eyes, however, her suspicions faded. She was beginning to doubt that she had anything to do with this, intentionally at least.

"I just realized that I do not yet know your name. I am Cassandra Pentaghast."

"My name is Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."

The walk through town was somber. The villagers stared at Pyrrha like some sort of monster. They looked on as Cassandra led her through the town, some in anger, most in fear. Cassandra explained that they were mourning Divine Justinia, and how they needed someone to blame for her death and the giant hole in the sky that was spewing demons as if it was the apocalypse.

 _If I can't put a stop to this it just might be._ Pyrrha thought as she was lead past a gate which closed behind them. Once the villagers were out of sight, Cassandra cut the last of the restraints from Pyrrha's wrists.

"There will be a trial, I can promise nothing more."

Nodding in affirmation, Pyrrha took in her surroundings for a moment before moving ahead. Both the light from the sun and the eerie light from the breach gleamed off of a frozen river below them. She observed a priest praying with a group of soldiers. She saw many wrapped bodies, blood staining the cloth used to mummify them. She was happy to reach the other gate on the opposite end of the bridge.

"Open the gates," Cassandra yelled to the keepers. "We are going into the valley!"

The path on their way into the valley was filled with soldiers. Some were in ramparts guarding the bridge, others were following them into the valley, and still others were retreating, many carrying wounded. Pyrrha caught one such soldier, who nearly passed out carrying one of his comrades. She and Cassandra helped the two men back to the bridge, and then set out again. On the way up the breach again expanded. Pyrrha fell to her knees, unprepared for the pain.

"The pulses are coming faster now." Cassandra said, helping her to her feet.

"That reminds me, how did I survive the blast?"

"The soldiers said that you… stepped out of a rift and fell unconscious." She said this almost in question, as if she wasn't sure she believed it. "They also said that there was a woman behind you, though no one knows who she was. Are you sure you don't remember any of this?"

"I don't know. The harder I try to think about it the fuzzier it gets. It's almost like the rift is trying to make me forget."

Cassandra continued to lead Pyrrha on. They had finally reached the bridge when she decided to tell Pyrrha the full extent of the plan.

"We are going to test your mark out on something smaller than the breach. Hopefully sealing it will alleviate some of the pain. We have some soldiers guard-" She was cut off by a blast of energy hitting the bridge and sending them crashing into the river below them. Dazed, but not seriously injured, they arose to the sound of something boiling. Looking ahead, they say a demon rising out of a pool of green mist.

Cassandra drew her sword and shield and leaped into action. "Stay behind me!" She yelled, as she charged the demon. Pyrrha could only look on, slightly miffed that the woman still thought she needed protection. As if the universe (or the author :P) wanted to give her a chance to prove her point, another demon began to form right in front of her.

She was smiling until she realized that once again she was up Battle Creek without a weapon. Looking around, she found exactly what she needed. In a supply box that had fallen from the destroyed bridge, she found a sword and a shield. Weapons in hand, she made short work of the demon, finishing it of at about the same time as Cassandra defeated hers.

"So, is this what we can expect in the rest of the valley?"

Cassandra looked over and saw that the prisoner, _Pyrrha_ ,she reminded herself, had armed herself. She looked to be about to draw her own weapon, or order Pyrrha to drop hers. To the prisoner's credit, she looked as if she might have complied. But when she saw the dead and dissolving demon that had previously escaped her notice, she thought better of it.

"It is clear that I cannot protect you, and it would be unfair to leave you defenseless." She paused a moment, studying Pyrrha's face. "I should remember that you came willingly, and that your life is on the line in more ways than one."

Continuing their walk through the valley, Cassandra handed her a flask, telling her it was a healing potion. This only served to confuse Pyrrha more. They had nothing like this where she was from. Not only that, but she had a sinking suspicion that the demons in the valley were not Grimm. In fact, she was beginning to doubt that she was on Remnant at all.

They fought their way through two more groups of demons, encountering foes similar to the ones they had already faced, and new ones that reminded Pyrrha of ghosts. They attacked from range, causing her to miss her old weapons, Milό and Akoύọ. She could have thrown the sword and shield she was currently holding, but without the proper aerodynamics, she would have to rely mostly on her Semblance to have any chance of hitting her target with them. She was not ready to show this Cassandra person all of her abilities yet.

Ahead of her, she could hear the sounds of fighting, so she and Cassandra rushed to aid the soldiers at the top of the hill. They were too late, and by the time they arrived the battle was over, and the only ones left alive were a short man with a crossbow a bald man with really pointy ears. They were accompanied by several demons still, as well and a glowing field of energy.

After slaying what remained of the demons, the pointy eared man turned toward her and said, "Quickly, before more come through!" When that didn't provoke a response, he grabbed Pyrrha by the hand and pulled it toward the rift.

She felt a light pull from the rift, and tried to pull her hand back. She heard a sound like air being sucked into a bottle, and then a sharp pop as the rift finally released her hand, and disappeared.

"What did you do?" She asked the man.

"I did nothing. The credit is yours."

"Okay then. Next time, I'd like some warning before you shove me toward a nexus of dark energy."

Ignoring her, he began to explain. "Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized that the mark may be able to close the rifts that have opened in the breaches wake, and it appears that I was correct."

Cassandra took a moment to interject. "Does this mean it could close the breach itself?"

"Possibly. It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

"Good to know." The other man said. "Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever."

He introduced himself as Varric Tethras and said he was an unwelcome tagalong. Judging from the vein popping out on Cassandra's forehead, and the fact that he also introduced himself as a rogue and a storyteller, Pyrrha assumed that these were the only time she shouldn't take his words with a grain of salt. He also introduced his crossbow, Bianca, as great company in a fight.

While he and Cassandra squabbled over whether or not he should come, the bald man took the time to introduce himself.

"My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see that you yet live."

"He means 'I kept that mark on your hand from killing you while you slept'" Varric interjected. Apparently he was coming whether Cassandra liked it or not.

Pyrrha regarded the man with a new respect, and thanked him. She would have to ask exactly how he did it later. After discussing the nature of the magic with Solas, Cassandra decided that they needed to get to the forward camp. The road was blocked, so they had to go back town into the valley. After another skirmish with a group of demons and climbing back up another hill, they encountered another rift. Killing the demons around it, she again reached out to it, this time of her own accord. It closed easily, and this time she noticed haw the pull felt familiar as if she had felt it somewhere else, before the first rift he had closed.

"The pathway is clear, open the gates." Cassandra said to the guards.

"Right away Seeker Cassandra." The soldier replied.

 _Seeker?_ Pyrrha thought. She had assumed from the way Cassandra carried herself that she was a Huntress of some sort, she did seem particularly qualified to fight demons, as Pyrrha was, but she had never heard that title before. She would have to ask later.

Walking onto yet another bridge, she was pleased to see that most of the occupants of this camp were still alive and well. At center of the bridge, she saw the other woman from earlier, "Leliana" as Cassandra had called her, speaking to a priest dressed similarly to the ones she had seen earlier. They were too far away to hear most of the conversation, but as the group entered earshot, the priest seemed to notice them.

"Ah, here they come now." He said. Pyrrha wondered if she had just imagined the contempt in his voice when Leliana attempted to introduce them.

"I know who they are, I'm just wondering why three out of four of them aren't in chains, and the jury is still out on the Chantry thug. Now, as Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution."

"Order me?" Cassandra questioned. _Today is just not her day,_ Pyrrha thought. _First a giant hole starts dropping demons out of the sky, and now everyone seems to be in the mood to piss her off. If this is how people treat her normally, it's no wonder that she has a perpetual scowl on her face._

"You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat."

"And as I said, you are a thug. But you are apparently a thug who serves the Chantry."

"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know." Leliana was clearly trying to simmer both sides down, and was failing miserably.

"Justinia is DEAD!" the chancellor shouted, causing many nearby soldiers to stiffen. A sharp look from Cassandra sent them all back to their duties. "We must elect a replacement, and follow _her_ orders on the matter."

"If you can take a moment to stop grandstanding," Pyrrha said, visibly irritated at the chancellor's lack of focus, "There is a GIANT SWIRLING VORTEX of mythical energy trying to EAT the world! Can we focus on that before you have me hanged?"

"You shouldn't even be here!" The chancellor shouted back. "Call a retreat, Seeker, our position here is hopeless."

"We can stop this before it's too late."

"How, you won't survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers."

"We must get to the temple; it's the quickest route…"

"… But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction, while we go through the mountains" Leliana proposed.

"We lost contact with an entire squad on that path, it's too risky."

"Listen to me…" the chancellor started.

"Unless you plan on fighting with us, you have no say in this decision." Pyrrha interrupted him in a manner that surprised everyone. Cassandra looked almost impressed.

"Then how do you think we should proceed?" Cassandra asked her.

Pyrrha thought for a moment, and then replied. "The direct route would be faster in theory, but the closer we've gotten to the Breach, the tougher resistance has become. Time is of the essence, and I think it would be faster to go around them than to go through them. We must work together. The stakes are far too high."

* * *

Pyrrha, Cassandra, Solas, and Varric began making their way up the mountain. Eventually they happened upon an old mining complex, and worked their way through the tunnels. As a pleasant surprise, they faced only paltry resistance inside. Unfortunately, they found several bodies at the tunnels exit.

"I suppose we found the scouts" Varric said grimly.

"That can't be all of them" Cassandra replied.

She was right, at the end of the pathway the heard fighting, and rushed forward. What they found was the rest of the squad, mounting a desperate defense while caught between a cliff face and a fade rift. After engaging them, the company made sliced through the demons like they were made of paper. Demons gone Pyrrha reached out toward the rift. Nothing happened. She tried again and still nothing.

"Solas?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps-" He was then cut off by the rift exploding. Pyrrha, who had been standing much too close, was thrown back several feet, and would have been blown clear off the side if not for a scout with quick reflexes grabbing her hand. Still by the time she had been pulled up, a new battle had begun. A new wave of demons spawned, this time led by a skeletal-looking creature. It looked at her, and then ripped what looked like a simple hole in the ground, until it jumped in and reappeared moments later, right beneath her feet.

If not for her own quick reflexes, she would have been knocked aside again. This time, however, she jumped off of his head and into the air, somersaulting, and bringing her sword down in a wicked arc, cleaving straight through the creature's body. She remembered the rift, and while the rest of the demons were distracted, she reached out again to the rift. This time, she felt that familiar pull, and then a shockwave. Much to her chagrin, the creatures and the rift still did not fade away. The creatures, did, however, freeze in place, like time had stopped for them.

The rest of the demons were taken town relatively quickly when the rest of the group recovered from their surprise. The last attempt to close the rift, thankfully, was successful.

"It is sealed, as before. The disruption on the rift was a good idea. You are becoming quite proficient at this." Solas stated.

"Let's just hope it works on the big one." Varric said.

Several of the scouts were wounded, but they had all survived the encounter. Cassandra was helping one, apparently the leader, to their feet.

"Thank the Maker you finally arrived Lady Cassandra. I doubt we would have held out much longer."

"Thank our prisoner, Lieutenant. She insisted we come this way."

"The prisoner?" she asked, turning towards Pyrrha, "Then you…?"

"We needed to find the fastest way to the breach, but I thought we'd find you up here. I'm glad we did."

"The way behind us back to the camp is still clear, for now," Cassandra said. "You should go while you still can."

The scouts made their way back, while the group made their way forward. On the path ahead, they faced no more demons, but rather questions as they approached the crater that used to be the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

"So… holes in the fade don't just accidentally happen, right?" Varric asked.

"No, but if enough magic is brought to bear, it is possible." Solas replied.

"But there are easier ways to make things explode."

"True."

As they enter the outer portion of the temple, Cassandra signaled for them to stop. Around them, charred pieces of earth extended up out of the ground in a ring around where the explosion emanated, like a wall trying to keep everything out… or perhaps something else in. Along with the charred earth, there were also charred bodies, burned by fire, or perhaps magic, Pyrrha couldn't tell. The thought that she could be responsible for this made her sick to her stomach, and she did not want to linger there any longer.

"That," Cassandra said suddenly, pointing to a particularly charred spot, "is where the soldiers said you came out of the rift."

Walking deeper into the temple, they continued until they reached the center, where a rift much larger than the others resided. Far above it, the Breach still swirled menacingly. Footsteps behind them, turned into a voice. "You made it, thank the Maker." The voice came from the woman at the bridge.

"Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple." Regarding Pyrrha, Cassandra looked back and forth between her and the rift. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"Sure I am, but I can't jump that high."

"No. This rift was the first, and it is the key. Seal it, and it may seal the Breach" Solas interjected.

"Then let's find a way down."

* * *

"The time of our victory is at hand" The voice said. "Prepare the sacrifice."

None of them recognized the voice reverberating off of the walls. Pyrrha thought she was going insane until she saw the confused looks on the others' faces. Worse, much like the pull of the rifts on her mark, the voice felt familiar. She was shocked out of her reverie by Varric, who roughly pulled her back from some red crystals she had absentmindedly walked into.

" _That_ is red lyrium. Don't touch it unless your _death wish_ has a death wish." Turning to Cassandra, he continued. "Seeker, what's this shit doing in the Temple of Sacred Ashes?"

"I don't know, Varric. There are a lot of things that shouldn't be in the Temple today. For example, there is a hole in the fade, and a crater, and the corpses of a few thousand people."

"The magic expelled here could have drawn regular lyrium to the surface, perhaps even corrupted it. I do get the sense that some form of blood magic was involved." Solas motioned for them to continue, and they kept walking on the path to the ground level.

As they went, the echoes began again. This time, a new voice rang in their ears.

"Someone! Help me!"

"That is… Divine Justinia's voice," said Cassandra. "How is this possible?"

"It could be an illusion," Solas replied. "Or a trick of the fade."

They now stood facing the rift. It seemed to pulsate in Pyrrha's presence. With a bright flash of light, the entire scene played out before them. They say a shadowy figure holding the Divine captive, Pyrrha rushing in to save her.

"The Divine called out for you!" Cassandra exclaimed. "What happened? Who was that holding her?"

"I told you. I don't remember."

The light faded leaving only the rift. It looked different from the others. This one looked more like a line drawn into thin air, whereas the others had actually looked more like holes.

"This rift is closed, but it could open at any time" Solas explained. "I believe that with your mark's power, we can open the rift and then seal it properly. This course of action, however, will without a doubt draw attention from the other side."

"That means demons!" Cassandra yelled to the rest of the soldiers. "Stand ready!"

Pyrrha took the time it took for everyone to ready themselves to ponder whether it was actually a good idea to intentionally invite the embodiments of evil for a playdate. She couldn't think of a better idea anyway, so she decided to stick with the plan. She reached out to the rift, and allowed the mark to do its work. This rift pulled harder than she others and she had to struggle to keep her balance.

As suddenly as it started, the pulled released its hold on her, and for a moment she thought she'd be able to close the rift before anything came through. And then she saw it.

* * *

The great news was that there was only one of them. The good news was that is that it was clearly a Grimm. The bad news was that it was a Death Stalker. The worst news was that, along with the fact that it was a giant evil scorpion that fed on negative human emotion, it had acquired the ability to channel lightning from its tail.

The latter was a fact that did not register until two soldiers had been fried, and then smashed, by said tail.

 _Where is Nora when you need her?_ The energetic hammer-maiden's power to channel lightning would have been useful, but Pyrrha realized that she might as well ask for the entire Atlas army. She'd just have to make do with what she had.

"Everyone spread out and keep away from the claws! Archers, aim for where the stinger meets its tail."

The soldiers seemed to listen to her, and soon they were attacking the beast from all sides. The archers had some trouble hitting their target with the way it wildly swung and lashed out, but Varric had yet to miss a shot. Bianca, it appears, was just as good company as he promised. The lightning was still a problem, mainly because Grimm couldn't usually control the elements.

Both she and the Grimm seemed to realize that she had just been standing there, thinking. It spun itself around, knocking back many of its attackers. Everyone who didn't get their shield up in time suffered either broken ribs or impalement from the creature's whetted claws and tail. It turned to Pyrrha, staring directly at her with cold green eyes.

 _Green Eyes?_

The stalker shot a bolt of lightning at her, which she saw coming and skillfully dodged. It then charged her and knocked her into the wall. No, she wasn't imagining it. Even as she picked herself up off the ground she couldn't help but stare at them.

Most people would scoff at her for noticing something so trivial, but when she fought, she could see and hear everything around her. She could even feel the archers above her, desperately trying to cause the monster to retreat with their arrows. Realizing this, her trainers had taught her what to pay attention to: weaknesses in her enemy, ways to use the environment to her advantage, and anything that felt out of place.

Even at her young age, she had fought and killed hundreds of Grimm. All of them had either yellow, orange, red eyes. But this one's eyes were the same color green as…

 _The rift! That must be were the Grimm's extra powers were coming from!_ She thought, formulating a plan in her mind. The Death Stalker struck again and she deflected the blow with her shield. The force was so great that she lost her hold on it, her arm being nearly wrenched out of her socket as a result. She took that moment to duck under it, crawling beneath and looking for a chink in the creature's armor. She found one right where she was expecting, between the cephalothorax and the abdomen.

Even without much leverage, she was able to jam her sword in between the plates and into the creature's body. It screeched and raised itself up, giving Pyrrha the chance she needed to scramble out from beneath it and over to the rift. Stretching her hand out as she did before, the mark called out to the rift. The creature stopped screeching and froze in place, as if time stopped for it and it alone.

With renewed vigor, the warriors who were not to injured attacked everywhere, with several stabbing out it eyes, some going to the underside, as Pyrrha did, and striking there. With one final, decisive stroke, Cassandra cleaved of the Grimm's tail, and it began to dissolve. The soldiers cheered, but Cassandra's focus had already shifted.

"Seal the rift! NOW!"

Pyrrha reached back to the rift, and her mark beckoned it to close. It took all the strength that she had left to resist the pull of the rift closing. At one point, it even threatened to pull her off the ground. Eventually, the pull stopped, and the rift disappeared, as did whatever strength she needed to remain standing. She heard someone rushing over to her, and then lapsed, thankfully, into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Shout out to the reviewer who told me how to add dividing lines into my chapters in the FFN editor. You da real MVP.

A/N2: Shout out to the reader my traffic stats tell me is from Brunei Darussalam. It's cool and it kinda sounds like a place that would be in Dragon Age.

A/N2: Man this feels like it took a while to write. All in all, it probably didn't, but it felt like it because the plot moved along as much as it did in the first chapter, except this one was literally five times longer.

A/N3: While I would have loved to add more details to the fights of this chapter, none of them were particularly important to the plot. Even in the game they were just tutorial/exposition moments, and none of them save the boss fight lasted longer than a minute. I promise, even without changing the story our heroes will face challenges that would make long, drawn out fights here seem pointless. Its only up from here.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Maybe I should buy the Oprah Winfrey Network, At least then I would OWN something...

* * *

 _What do you call déjà vu when it happens four times?_

That was the first thought on Pyrrha's mind as she again woke up in a strange place after passing out in a fight.

The second thought on her mind was w _here are the people who want to kill me?_

Getting up from the bed she way sat on, she found herself in a small cabin. She was alone and her armor was laid out beside her. She gave herself a once over and discovered that she was unharmed, but the clothes she was wearing were not hers. The mark was still on her hand. She couldn't see it anymore, but she could feel its power in her skin.

 _At least I won't have to wear gloves for the rest of my life._

It still bothered her that it hadn't disappeared completely. If the mark was still there, did that mean the Breach was still there too? What was destiny trying to tell her? She tried to remember the last person she talked to about destiny.

With a start she realized that person had put an arrow in her chest.

She stood up, rapidly trying to open her shirt, and stared at herself, expecting some kind of horrible scarring. To her surprise there was nothing. She wondered if someone had healed her, perhaps with one of the potions like the one Cassandra had given her. She hadn't needed it, but she had seen several soldiers use them on her way to the breach. They could heal grievous injuries if taken early enough.

But someone still would have had to remove the arrow. Someone would have had to have given her a potion. There had certainly been a long passage of time between when she first arrived and before she would have met anyone who cared enough to treat her wounds. She also felt no adverse effects. She assumed that a flaming arrow to the chest would at least give her heartburn.

Of course, all these considerations required her to ignore that she hadn't been killed instantly.

The woman who walked into her room was expecting her to be in bed. When Pyrrha whipped around at the sound of the door opening, the startled woman dropped the box she was carrying. The crash that accompanied the thump of the box hitting the floor told them that the contents had been ruined. The woman immediately dropped to her knees and bowed.

"I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant."

Pyrrha was perturbed by the woman. It brought back flashbacks of her childhood, when people would treat her like a celebrity just because she was a good fighter. She was not eager to go back to that. Even then, they never bowed to her like a god.

"Are you the one who's been taking care of me?"

"Yes ma'am."

"For how long?"

"Two days, ma'am. They say you saved us. You passed out after you caused the Breach to stop growing, like the mark on your hand."

"Then there are two things I need from you now."

"Anything ma'am."

"First, thank you for treating me. You need not ever bow to me. What is your name?"

"I am Rithala, my lady."

Pyrrha considered telling her not to call her that either, but she realized the woman may have just been being polite. She did not want to make the woman any more nervous than she already was. Rithala stood up, and began cleaning up the spilled contents of the box.

"Where are we, Rithala?"

"We are in Haven, ma'am. Lady Cassandra said she wanted to know when you awoke, my lady. She wanted to speak with you in the chantry. 'At once' she said."

Rithala was about to hurry out of the room, but Pyrrha still needed to know one more thing.

"And Rithala," the woman turned around. "Did I have a, um, gaping chest wound?"

"No, my lady? You had some heavy bruising, but even that healed rather quickly. There was nothing to suggest that anything penetrated your skin. My full report is on the table, if you wish to know more. Please come to the chantry, when you are ready."

She left, and once again, Pyrrha was on her own. She decided to look at the report, to see if she could gain any more insight.

 _Day 1: The patient is calm, and the mark does not seem to be causing her any more pain. The apostate, Solas, came to check on her this morning. He seemed unsurprised as this; however, I don't think I've ever seen him change his expression. Still, I wish we could keep a Templar here, just in case._

 _Note: I removed her armor, but I could not easily remove her clothes because of her bruises, so I decided to cut her out of them. As I was doing so, Adan came in with some elfroot. He startled me, and I was worried that I had cut her, instead, the scissors I was using bounced off of her like it was nothing._

 _Day 2: When I came in this morning, her bruises were already mostly healed. I've seen the work elfroot does, but this is ridiculous. Otherwise, the only change is that she began talking in her sleep. I heard several names, but the only one I recognized was of someone named "John"._

She blushed slightly at the mention of _Jaune_ , despite it being spelled incorrectly. She took a moment to reminisce on the last time she saw him, and then refocused. The only thing she picked up on from the notes is that the mark wasn't killing her anymore. Other than that, she was left with more questions than answers. What does the note mean by "apostate"? The closest word she could think of was _traitor._ That wasn't a pleasant thought. Second, what was a "Templar"? And third, why did both Solas and Rithala have such pointy ears? She wasn't going to get answers to any of these questions standing here. Cassandra was still waiting for her, and they had a lot to talk about.

The sight outside her door nearly caused her to black out for a fifth time. A crowd of people stood outside, and she wasn't sure if they were going to mob her or cheer her. She wasn't sure what would be worse. When the two soldiers at the forefront pounded their chest in salute, she assumed the latter. She recognized this as the town she walked through in chains with Cassandra. She didn't remember the way to the chantry, but the crowd formed a path straight to it.

"That's her, the one who stopped the Breach from getting any bigger."

"I heard that she was supposed to seal it completely."

"Yeah, and I bet you would have done a much better job."

The whispers from the people around her made her uneasy. She remembered Rithala saying that the Breach had only stopped growing, but it never occurred to her that the Breach would remain a threat even at its current size. She finally reached the building, and pushed the doors open. She was greeted by a mostly empty room, and the sound of voices coming from behind a door in the back. If they went there for privacy, they were doing a poor job of it. They were yelling loud enough to be heard from farther outside than she was sure they intended.

"The prisoner failed to close the breach Seeker. For all we know she intended it that way!"

"I do not believe that."

"It doesn't matter what you believe. You have a duty to serve the Chantry."

"My duty is to serve the duty the principles the Chantry is founded upon, as is yours."

Pyrrha was so distracted by the conversation that she did not notice Leliana walking up behind her.

"Eavesdropping?"

Startled, Pyrrha nearly threw a punch until she realized who it was.

"You're jumpy today, aren't you?"

"Sorry" Pyrrha replied.

"Don't worry; I would be too if I was constantly waking up surrounded by strangers. Besides, I don't think it counts as being nosy when people are yelling. Especially when you're one they're yelling about."

Opening the door, Leliana greeted the two inhabitants, Cassandra and Chancellor Rodrick. Stepping inside herself, Pyrrha also noticed two guards at the door.

"Chain her. I want her prepared to be taken to the capital for trial." The chancellor exclaimed.

"Disregard that, and leave us." Cassandra countered.

The soldiers took that opportunity to escape what had obviously been a very tense situation. Pyrrha was starting to wish she had that option.

"You walk a very dangerous line, Seeker." Rodrick delivered these words without even looking at Cassandra. His eyes bore it to Pyrrha, and it was clear that he had already judged her as the one responsible.

"The Breach is still a threat, and I refuse to ignore it."

"I did everything I could. The rift in the temple almost sucked me in" Pyrrha interjected.

"Yet it didn't, and you still live. Very convenient for you isn't it?" The chancellor was not budging.

"Speaking of convenient, Chancellor, you seem to be the only male member of the Chantry who attended the Conclave and survived. All the rest were either caught by the explosion or killed by demons shortly thereafter." Leliana was looking at him with a twinkle of mischief that Pyrrha would not soon forget.

"As I have said before, the Divine herself had sent me back to the chantry to collect some books she had forgotten. I was on my way back when the explosion occurred."

"The only reason I believe that is because as _I_ have said before, you're a glorified clerk." Cassandra had clearly run out of patience and respect for the man, but Pyrrha still had no clue which of them held the actual command authority.

"So you're telling me that the prisoner isn't a suspect?"

"I heard the voices in the Temple of Sacred Ashes. The Divine called to her for help. The mark on her hand and her unlikely survival were not the result of some mere coincidence. The Maker sent her to us in our darkest hour."

"That's ludicrous!"

Cassandra nearly cracked a smile. This scared Pyrrha more than her scowl.

"If you cannot see that she was exactly what we needed when we needed it, than you are even more deluded than I thought. You can doubt the Maker if you wish, Chancellor, but if you still believe that this is not our decision, than I suggest you take a look at this."

She slammed a book on the table. "This is a writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn. We will end this war between the mages and templars, we will seal the breach, and we will bring to justice those responsible for the Divine's death. So I suggest that you get on board, or get out of the way."

He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead left in a huff. Leliana looked at Pyrrha, concerned. "You are the only one who can seal the Breach. None of this means anything without you. We have no numbers, no leader, and now, no Chantry support."

It was Pyrrha's turn to speak up. "None of us have any choice, either. I'm going to be honest with you both. I highly doubt that I'm from around here. I've never heard of a Chantry, of a Mage-Templar War, or demons of the kind we faced before we reached the breach. I believe that both I, and the scorpion demon we fought at the temple are from another world, brought here by the same magic that created the breach."

"Until I figure out how to get back, however, I'm not going anywhere. I don't know anything about this world, but I will never turn my back on people who need my help."

"Alright," Cassandra said. "I know where we can find someone who can help marshal our forces."

"And I know someone who can serve us on the more… diplomatic side of things." Cassandra gave Leliana a strange look. "What? We are going to need an ambassador to curry favors with the nobility, and I have the perfect candidate in mind."

Pyrrha shook hands with both Cassandra and Leliana, and the deal was sealed.

She hadn't expected it, but the Inquisition was here to stay, and so was she.

* * *

A/N: This chapter's shout out goes to the Isle of Man. I think the flag is really cool.

A/N2: This is an important one. Every fanfiction writer has the challenge of keeping their character as close to in-character as they can. Otherwise, it's just an OC who happens to share a name. While this much easier with the characters of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which had over a hundred hours worth of gameplay. This is much harder with Pyrrha (I don't think the RWBY series is even 20 hours long yet). In this world, she's going to be put in some situations that are very much uncharted for her. For example, while most of the characters in the show are her age, she'll be interacting with adults for the majority of this story.

Now that she's dead (spoiler?), I doubt she'll be getting anymore character development in the show, so if I don't know how she would act in a certain situation, all I can do is watch the show, read the wiki, and guess. And I would love to hear how I can improve on that.


	4. Chapter 4

The next two weeks passed by in a blur. New soldiers and believers flocked in by the day. They barely had enough supplies to care for them all, so much so that Pyrrha and Cassandra personally went out and gathered supplies, whether it was hunting, marking locations for logging and mining, and clearing out a sparse few rifts in the fade. In the meantime, Cassandra tried to get Pyrrha up to speed on the basics, at least, of what she needed to know.

They resided in the continent of Thedas, which was made up of five major parts. The two largest were Empire of Orlais, and the Kingdom of Ferelden. Haven resided on the Frostback Mountain Range, which separated the two, but was still technically part of Orlais. There was also the Free Marches, which was separated from the mainland. The last two were of particular interest to Pyrrha, because those were ones Cassandra told her the least about. Nevarra was Cassandra's homeland, and was largely desert land. That was all she could get out of her. The Quinari lands to the north were a mystery to most humans. Tervinter, on the other hand, Cassandra was a subject Cassandra covered as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"They used to rule most of Thedas. They probably ruled all of it, but who really keeps track after several thousand years? Anyway, they eventually fell apart and were forced to retreat back to the land they reside in know. More important is how they fell. According to the Chantry, they are the ones who started the Blight, which is a magical sickness that corrupts human flesh and turns them into darkspawn. This usually occurs when one of the "old gods" appears on the surface in the form of the dragon."

"Combine that with a propensity towards blood magic, the practice of slavery, and the looming threat of invasion, and you can see why most people don't like them much."

Cassandra had been lecturing without taking a breath for about thirty minutes. "I realize that I've been talking your ear off, but it's important that you know these things. "

"I understand, but it feels like there are so many factions and political groups. I'm curious how you all keep it straight."

"We don't. Sometimes I think we fight just to fight." A scout arrived with a note for Lady Cassandra. The ambassador had finally arrived from Antiva. With the general arriving yesterday, the new leadership of the Inquisition could finally meet.

"Come, I will tell you of the Mage-Templar war later, and then I wish to hear about your homeland."

The walk back into camp was a pleasant one. Things were beginning to take shape. While Pyrrha thought the Inquisition looked a bit small for its goals, she knew that she should never doubt a group dedicated to its purpose. She had seen the commander while she was passing through in the morning. He had scarcely been in haven for twenty-four hours, and already he was putting the soldiers through rigorous training and having trebuchets built around the camp for defense.

She couldn't imagine ever having to defend such a small place from a siege, but she imagined the mountains would make excellent natural defenses. It reminded her somewhat of Vale, actually, and how the mountain ranges protected it from Grimm attacks for so long. She did not know if the kingdom had fallen when she disappeared, but with a Grimm dragon on the loose, and her fellow huntsman and huntresses being overrun, things did not look positive.

For better or worse, there was nothing she could do about it now. There was another world that needed saving. What was it that Ren told her once? "The more things change, the more they stay the same"? There was a sadness in his eyes when he said that. She hoped her friends had made it out safely.

She walked into the back room of the chantry, where she was greeted by Cassandra, Leliana, the commander, and the person she could only assume to be the ambassador. The commander introduced himself first.

"My name is Cullen Rutherford. I am a former Knight-Commander of the templars and have been serving since I turned of age. I've been told that I am to act as Commander of the inquisition."

The ambassador went second, looking up briefly from her candle-lit clipboard. "My name is Josephine Montilyet. I was previously the chief ambassador from Antiva to Orlais. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Pyrrha was briefly reminded of the meet-n-greet in her first class at Beacon. "Alright everyone," Ozpin would say. "State your name, and something interesting about yourself."

She was briefly tempted to laugh, but did not want to appear immature. It did not escape her that everyone in the room -strike that- everyone in Haven was a good deal older than her. She cleared her throat, and then spoke. "Hello, my name is Pyrrha Nikos. I've been training to fight since I could stand. Though I was technically still in training, I was at the top of my class in my combat school."

At this the commander frowned. "Combat school? I don't mean to be rude, but how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen years old."

Even Leliana seemed flabbergasted at this statement. Pyrrha thought that she was the kind of person who noticed everything.

"I realize that I am a bit younger than the rest of you, but that does not make me any less committed to this cause. Believe me; it would have been irregular for someone as young as I to take such a position at my age. But as I said before, I have been training for this my entire life. I don't know if Cassandra or Leliana has told you, but I am not from here. Where I came from, youth did not make you immune to responsibility."

"The city and school I trained in when I was transported here is probably overrun by demons. My friends, who were all my age or younger, were all that stood between the city and destruction. Where was I, you ask? I was about to give my life for them. My last memory of that place is the face of the woman who shot me in the chest. I should be dead. For all anyone there knows, I am dead."

"But for them, I would do it again. And for you all, for the people of Thedas, I would do it again. Did the people of Remnant like the fact that their children were their line line of defense? No, but they didn't have a choice. Unless you can find another way to seal the Breach, we don't have one either."

The room was silent for a full minute. Josephine recovered first, but instead of speaking, she began writing furiously on her clipboard. Leliana had a faraway look on her face, as if she was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Cassandra's face was hard to read, but somehow she did not seem angry. Cullen was the first to speak.

"Well, I guess that's that. A girl not even old enough to be recruited into the army is the world's best hope for peace. So, what's our first move?"

Leliana opened up a report. "Solas speculates that the mark can close the breach if given more power. This most likely means contacting the rebel mages for help."

"Sure," Cullen replied. "What harm could there be in powering up something we barely understand? I still say we should go to the templars. They could weaken the Breach itself, which has to be the safer option."

"Either way, we face at least two more issues before we even get to that point. The Inquisition doesn't have the influence to meet with either group yet." Josephine briefly looked up from her clipboard. "Secondly, we must deal with the fact that the chantry has denounced us, and _you_."

Pyrrha was confused. "What have I done wrong? Is trying to save the world against your religion here?"

Cullen chuckled. "Sometimes, that's what it feels like. But no, they are responding to the fact that some have begun calling you the Herald of Andraste. They've labeled you a false prophet, and us heretics for harboring you."

"What does that mean specifically?"

Cassandra finally decided to speak. "It means three things actually. First, that people believe the woman you saw inside the fade rift was Andraste, and that she sent you to us personally. Second, it means that the Chantry views you as a threat. Thirdly, it means that garnering support for the Inquisition will be even harder than anticipated."

"But was the woman actually Andraste?"

"No one knows, indeed you are the only one who could have known. Until we know more, I suggest that we encourage these rumors, or at least not oppose them. That our purpose seems ordained will encourage others to join us, and we have no real reason to believe it isn't true."

The others seemed to be in agreement on this, but Pyrrha was uneasy. She was already uncomfortable with the display outside her room when she awoke in Haven after closing the rift, and now she could only imagine it on a global scale. She forced these feelings aside. She couldn't afford to look fearful now.

"So our first goal should be to try to get the Chantry back on our side, correct? How would we go about that?"

Leliana opened up another report. "Not everyone in the chantry is against us. There is a sister, Mother Giselle, in the Hinterlands willing to meet us. She is aiding refugees in a camp, south of Redcliffe. Apparently the Earl thought it was a better idea to build a wall around his village and leave them to fend for themselves in the middle of a war."

"That sounds needlessly cruel and stupid."

"It is. I hope I'm not overstepping, but I've already dispatched my scouts to help protect the camp and Mother Giselle. She says she will not leave until the refugees are safe."

Cullen looked at the map, and scowled. "I've heard reports of what was happening there. The fighting between mages and templars is even worse there than it was everywhere else. Redcliffe is housing the mages, technically, but I've heard that the Templar leadership has been trying to pull their forces out of there for some time. It's as if they gone insane and stopped taking orders completely. If you're going, then I'd leave sooner rather than later."

They all nodded in agreement, and went their separate ways prepare for the mission. Cullen went back to training the soldiers, Josephine retreated to her office to write letters, and Leliana went to read more reports. Cassandra introduced Pyrrha to the blacksmith to repair her armor, as well as to build new weapons.

Harritt, the smith, was surprised at her knowledge of how to use a forge. She was no master, but she had drawn up a simple, yet incredibly sturdy design for a shield and short sword in no time at all. They would have a smooth aerodynamic pattern that would allow them to be thrown with ease and accuracy.

"These designs are so nice I almost regret having to build them in such a crappy forge. It's like giving birth to a king inside of a manger (that's the second allusion I've made in this chapter, because I'm an artsy degenerate). You must tell me, where did you get these?"

"They are mine, though I'd be lying if I said I came up with them alone. My father was a smith, like you, and he helped me make a crude and simple design into something actually usable. Where I'm from, our weapons are as much a part of ourselves as our limbs. It's part of why we name them. Someone helps us build them when we are young, and we spend much of our training becoming one with the weapon."

"He taught you well. I won't have these done before you leave, but I'll be damned if I let something like this sit around waiting to be used. As soon as it's finished, I'll have a messenger send it out to you."

Pyrrha thanked the man and left. It was shaping up to be a long day tomorrow, and she needed her rest. She was told that it was a day and a half's journey to arrive in the Hinterlands. And then she would have to start _doing_ things. This seemed like less of a big deal when the mission was to slow down a few beowolves outside of a village, and the worst that could happen is a few nicks and a bad grade. Now, she's wading into a war, and she might have to kill actual living people.

She never thought she would miss homework.

A/N: Yay! We're finally done with the exposition chapters… until we get to Val Royeaux, but that shouldn't be for another 2-3 chapters… maybe.

A/N2: This chapter's shout out goes to AgentDrakkis, because even I am not a big enough degenerate to pair a currently underage girl with someone at least twice her age. It's why I was never promoted to DeGeneral Degenerate. All joking aside, I have no idea what I'm doing to do with the relationships between any of the characters yet, especially Pyrrha. I mean look at my profile picture, do I really look like a guy who isn't just making this up as he goes along?

A/N3: Speaking of making things up as I go along, I have no idea how I'm going to reconcile things like distance, travel, and the passage of time. The game itself doesn't really do much to help me in this respect, and I have no idea how big Thedas is relative to earth or Remnant. I'll do my best to avoid time continuity errors.

A/N4: Speaking of continuity, I'll be sticking with the default world state for the game. While there are certain things from the other world states that would be really interesting, I haven't played the other Dragon Age games, so trying to add alternate plotlines from those games, just based on having read about them, while I'm already making this an alternate universe/retelling, would almost guarantee that I make some sort of continuity error and confusing everybody, including myself. So King Alistair it is (he actually has, like, zero actual influence on the plot, but you know, examples, and i.e.'s and etc.'s and stuff).


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I forgot to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the last chapter so I had to sell advertising space to pay for my legal fees.

This chapter is brought to you by Arby's.

 **Arby's** : It's _almost_ better than starving to death.

* * *

Pyrrha was awakened by a knocking on her door. She opened it to Rithala, who was carrying a tray of food. To her pleasant surprise, Rithala didn't look like she was going to drop it this time.

"Hello, my lady. I was told that you would be leaving for the Hinterlands today. I thought you might like something to eat before you leave."

Pyrrha smiled and invited her inside, but the elf merely shook her head. She again looked embarrassed, like she just wanted to disappear. "I'm sorry, but I have much work to do. I wish you much luck in your endeavors." She scurried out of the door before Pyrrha could say anything, and again she was gone. Disappointed, she ate her breakfast quickly, set her armor, and left for the Haven's gates. She found Cassandra on the training ground just outside the makeshift walls, where she usually was. Pyrrha sometimes wondered if she slept there.

"There you are, I was hoping we'd be able to leave without you." Cassandra said dryly.

Pyrrha looked at her, confused and somewhat offended, until she realized Cassandra wasn't looking at her. She turned around and jumped, not noticing the dwarf behind her.

"It's a day and half to the Hinterlands, Seeker. If I don't come, who's going to keep everyone entertained?"

"Literally anything else."

"Well, _someone_ isn't a morning person."

"Let's make a deal. I'll become a morning person if you become a quiet person."

Solas had joined them during this exchange, and chuckled quietly to himself. "If this is what we can expect for the entire trip, at least we won't be bored."

Pyrrha smiled, both at the quipping, and the fact that they could finally get going. Despite having spent several weeks here, the cold was not agreeing with her. She was hoping that the Hinterlands were at least warmer, even if the reports showed it to be a complete warzone. Shouldering her share of the supplies, she began following Cassandra, who had already begun moving.

Sixteen hours later, they were bedding down for the night. Nothing of real interest happened, except for a small group of bandits that had attempted to rob them. Cassandra was able to talk them out of it (if looking at them with her trademark scowl and reaching for her sword counted as talking). Varric just laughed as they ran.

At the camp, Solas estimated that they could reach the refugee camp by noon tomorrow if they left in the morning. Pyrrha had wanted to keep marching, but Cassandra talked her out of it. There would be no time to rest when they arrived, and they'd be little use exhausted and starving.

"Besides," she said, "not all of us have your youthful energy. Poor Varric looks like he's going to keel over."

"Not everyone is permanently sustained by the 'Eternal Light of the Maker'. If you're so virile, Seeker, than why don't you take first watch?" Varric's mocking tone incited challenge in the Cassandra.

"Gladly."

Pyrrha took the last watch, reasoning that she would need the least amount of sleep. About a half an hour after sunrise, she awoke the rest of her team, and they continued onward. Around noon as Solas said, they arrived at their destination, making excellent time. The scout camp was busy with many coming and going, and the amount of people in the field hospital was less than encouraging.

Someone finally noticed their arrival, and soon they were approached by a dwarf with a captain's insignia on her armor.

"The Herald of Andraste," she said with mild awe, "we've all heard about what you did in the breach. Lead Scout Harding at your service."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. What's the situation out here?" Pyrrha asked.

"We came out here to secure horses from Horsemaster Dennet's herds. I grew up here, and I assure you, his horses are the strongest and fastest on this side of the Frostbacks. We were cut off by fighting from the mages and templars and we've been unable to break through. We had to pull back, and we've been fighting to protect the crossroads ever since. Even if we could keep them safe, which we can't do forever, the refugees are trapped there. Illness and starvation are as much a threat…"

They heard it before they saw it. The battle cries, the sounds of metal clashing, arrows whizzing by… the screams all filling their ears at once. Rushing down the hill towards the noise, Pyrrha finally saw what she had feared for the past two days… and all-out war. The two sides tore into each other with no regard for life, their own or anyone else's.

They didn't specifically target the scrambling refugees, but the collateral damage was high, caught between the two armies, anyone who was not hiding inside one of the old, dilapidated buildings had nowhere to go, with many being hit by errant spells or arrows, or being trampled by the hulking knights on the Templar side. Flames were burning throughout the town.

This was all too much for Pyrrha, who was receiving painful reminders of villages and cities being attacked by Grimm. She thought of how the panic would only attract more Grimm, the people's own fear speeding their demise. Her feelings knotted up in the pit of her stomach and she felt like she could run through a brick wall and not slow down at all.

So she did.

Charging into a burning home, she quickly hoisted a wounded man onto her shoulders, while taking his young daughter into her arms. Coming back through the hole she made, she quickly moved them to relative safety, behind the Inquisition troops that were entering the fray. She needed to get these people out of the way, or else winning this battle would save no one.

She weaved her way up, down, and around the field of battle, using her superior agility to dodge swords, arrows, and magical blasts from the warring factions. Reaching an overturned cart, she recovered a villager hiding underneath it. Hearing a yell behind her, Pyrrha ducked her head just in time to duck an axe-wielder aiming to cave her head in. His over-swing caused him to fall to the ground in a manner that would have been comical under different circumstances.

She kicked the axe out his hand and said, "These people are not your enemies; they are just villagers. Stop this madness". The downed soldier responded by turning and punching at her head. This didn't work, however, as the man was still on the ground. His fist collided with her shield, breaking several of the bones in his hands. Satisfied that he at least wouldn't be a threat anymore, Pyrrha moved on to keep protecting the villagers.

Meanwhile, Cassandra, Solas, and Varric had managed to help the rest of the inquisition soldiers turn the tide of the battle. The battle was beginning to wind down, and most of the templars and mages were retreating. The templars had taken heavier losses, and one of the mages saw a chance to wipe them out completely. Pyrrha was the only one who saw him, but she wasn't close enough to stop him.

Somebody else was. The soldier who had broken his hand earlier made one last move, jamming his axe into the mage's stomach before he himself was impaled by a bolt from a now aware Varric. This didn't stop the blast from going off, however, and the blast went in the general direction of soldiers it had been intended to hit.

The next thirty seconds were perhaps the slowest in Pyrrha's life.

It started with a sick feeling in her gut. The stench of death on the battlefield filled her nostrils like a dense fog.

She looked at the path of the ball of energy, with her stomach tightening and her insides unraveling at the same time.

On the receiving end of the blast was a small group of frightened children hiding behind a crumbling hut. They hadn't seen it. There was no way they'd be able to move in time.

There was, however, someone who could, albeit with a little… encouragement.

A wounded soldier was lying on the field, his heavy armor having been punctured by numerous magical blasts.

Pyrrha reached beyond herself, and wrapped her energy around the metal armor. She pushed with all of her might, sending it flying, and taking the soldier with it.

The blast was intercepted at the last moment, just before it would have hit the building.

It wasn't enough.

The blast sent the soldier into the hut anyway, causing the already unstable structure to fall.

There was a cloud of dust.

There were screams.

Pyrrha and several other Inquisition soldiers rushed towards the blast zone, clearing rubble as fast as they could. They finally reached the bottom, and their fear was realized. The children were dead, crushed.

She was expecting the guilt to hit her, the regret. She waited for the tears to come. She had failed again. Suddenly she felt hopeless. She had spent her entire life training to be the best, and she failed whenever it mattered most. The tears had arrived. She fell to her knees and let them come.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and after about a minute, she turned to the concerned face of Varric.

"You okay kid?"

"Did you see what I did?"

"You did your best." Cassandra interjected. "I sympathize with how your feeling, but you are not the failure here. I don't know exactly what that was, but it was a better attempt than anyone could have made. You saved many. Focus on that. We still have too much work left for you to mourn them now."

She stood, and taking a towel offered to her by Varric, and wiped the combination of sweat, blood (not hers), and tears from her face. She tried to calm herself down, and after finding marginal success, she turned to helping the scouts put out fires, rescue the villagers, and burying the dead.

After several hours, some semblance of calm settled over the village, and the group was finally able to find Mother Giselle. She was tending the child that Pyrrha had saved, who seemed to have a broken ankle. After apply the cast and saying a prayer over her and her father, who had a few bruised ribs, she turned toward Pyrrha.

"So you are the one they call the Herald of Andraste. You have my gratitude for saving these people."

"I just wish we'd arrived sooner."

"If you focus only on those you couldn't save, then you will lose sight of those that can still be saved. If your aim truly is to close the breach, then there are still plenty of people left who will need saving."

"Is that why you called me here?"

"Partially. I know of the Chantry's denouncement. I won't lie to you; some are just grandstanding and hoping to increase their chances of becoming the next Divine. Some of them are truly terrified; so many good people were senselessly taken from us. While this is no excuse for their divisive actions, in their eyes, they do not yet have a reason to trust you."

"So what do you suggest I do?"

"Go to them. Show them that you are no monster to be feared. Show them what you have shown these people today. Show them that you are here to protect the innocent."

She took a moment to contemplate this. Leliana made it sound like the Chantry wanted her head. She also made it sound like their support would be needed to seal the breach. She knew that the Inquisition would need as many allies as possible, and the Chantry was the best choice to earn the trust of the people of Thedas. There was just one thing still bothering her.

"Why do you trust me, then? Surely you've heard nothing more than the rest of the clerics have."

"I do not know if you have the power to close the breach. I don't even know if that is you true intention. What I do know it that you are the only one who has even made an attempt. And what I have seen is the way you wept over the death of the innocents. You could turn this Inquisition into a force that could save us, or destroy us. It would not be called hope if I was already sure."

"Thank you, Mother Giselle. I will take your words to heart. Once these villagers are safe, will you perhaps join us at Haven? There are some who could use your words even more than I."

"Yes, I will make that journey soon. May Andraste guide the rest of your journey."

The inquisition had sent reinforcements from Haven, and they were now setting up a perimeter defense and also helping rebuild shelters from the refugees. She relayed Mother Giselle's message back to her compatriots. Cassandra and Solas agreed with the idea. Varric clearly was not very fond of Val Royeaux, and voiced a somewhat peeved indifference.

While they were talking, a messenger arrived for Pyrrha.

"Master Harritt sends his regards. He also said that he'd have my head if I didn't get this to you as soon as possible." He handed her a package, and quickly departed. Opening the box, Pyrrha found a very familiar and very welcome sight. She picked up her new weapon, Milό 2.0, and was filled with a confidence she didn't have before.

"Alright!" she said suddenly, causing Cassandra, Varric, Solas, and half the camp to look up at her in surprise. "We will go to Val Royeaux, We will convince the Chantry to help us, and we will find a way to close the breach. But tomorrow, we will find master Dennet, we will protect these people, and we will end the battle in the Hinterlands."

Cheers erupted throughout the camp, and for the first time since arriving in this world, Pyrrha had a goal, a plan, and people to protect. She had a cause to believe in, and she was ready for whatever fight was coming next.

* * *

A/N: I'M NOT DEAD! I know this chapter took forever, and to be honest, none of my content will be coming out at the same rate as the previous chapters anymore. A lot is going on in my life now. I somehow ended up getting a job in the pace I was originally writing this, which also means I needed to find a new place to type, my schedule is starting to fill up a bit, and it has impeded my momentum in the same way a brick wall impeded the momentum of a car. However, this remains the least frustrating part in my life so you can trust me to keep coming back to it.

A/N2: Shout out to everyone who still believes in me, so basically everyone except my parents. That was a joke. Probably.


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